Page 23 of Maggie’s Match

When she came down the stairs, Rick was standing at the bottom, waiting for her.

“Ready to head out?” he asked, running his eyes up and down her body.

She nodded. “You?” She let her eyes run up and down him too. He’d changed again, and what stood before her now was one hundred percent cowboy, from the top of his black Stetson to the bottom of his worn cowboy boots.

He nodded and then reached out to touch her elbow. “Later, maybe we can swing by the lot together. I’d like a chance to look at it.”

“Sure,” she said. After they looked at the building, she would be heading there next. She’d driven by it several times when she’d still been dreaming of purchasing a place instead of renting.

“Maggie.” He stepped closer, and she felt her heart skip a beat. His eyes moved to her lips for a split second before her cousin came out of the kitchen.

“Ready?” Bent said. He looked between the two of them, then burst out laughing. He turned back to the kitchen and said loudly, “Told you.”

Maggie broke the contact and turned away before she allowed her weakness to show to Rick.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Bent and Becca were whispering.

“What?” she asked. They both looked at her as if she was crazy.

“Let’s go,” Bridget said at the same time as Bryson.

The groups separated. The men headed off to the stables, while she and her aunt and cousin headed to the building that held the four-wheelers.

“How long has it been since you’ve driven one of these?” her aunt asked, handing her a helmet.

“The last time I was out here. But it’s easier than riding a bike,” she joked.

“We’ll go slow,” her aunt said.

As they headed out in the opposite direction from the men, she couldn’t help but wonder what Rick had been about to say to her. What she would have said back.

It was getting harder for her to keep up the walls she’d put in place.

As she followed her aunt through the fields, she came up with a plan to turn the tables on him once and for all. She been trying to convince herself that she was in charge. Well, it was past time she took control.

By the end of the day, Richard Johnathan Graham was going to be completely at her mercy.

Chapter Nine

There were few places that Rick felt at home. In the saddle was the best of them. He had lost count of the times he’d spent herding cattle in his youth.

His cousins, aunts, uncles, and parents had pitched in around Saddleback Ranch for his entire life. The family-owned business was the heart of his life. He imagined it was the same with the Barrantes.

Saddleback Ranch had more than a dozen employees during the season, most of them part-time hands. Only four of them stuck around the entire year. Two of them were life-timers who had been working on the ranch since before his birth.

He knew the next step was for him and Bent to take a look at the hired hands currently working on the ranch. Bryson had hired them all, but Rick wanted to make sure none of them were working behind the scenes to undermine the family and the ranch.

After all, he’d heard the story of how his parents had almost been killed by one of their own ranch hands shortly before his birth. After that incident, everyone who worked on Saddleback underwent a full background check courtesy of his uncle Wes, who was Fairplay’s sheriff.

When he could, he was going to send each employee’s information to his uncle for a background check. If any of the men had ties to the Tillersons, they needed to know for sure.

Shortly before lunchtime, they returned to the barn, sweaty and covered in dust.

He made his way inside to shower once more, then changed into a clean pair of pants. He tossed both sets of dirty clothes from that day into the downstairs washing machine. He’d only brought along a few changes of clothes, and he’d probably need them all again the next day.

When he went to find Maggie, Bridget told him that she and Becca had gone into town for lunch and that they were expecting him at the local chicken place in town. Maggie wanted him to meet them there so they could swing by the lot after lunch. He jumped into his truck and headed into town.

There were only a few places in town to eat. Most of the buildings sat empty now. It was strange, considering Bentley had hinted that the town had once been as busy as Fairplay.